I finished this in a day. Dual POV and set in present day and eight years earlier when the FMC and MMC first build their relationship. This was my first suspense romance and I really enjoyed it. There were a few big twists throughout the book that kept the pacing fast.

I did kind of hate the MMC for the first 20% of the book. He hated the world and it seemed like everything was a nuisance to him. BUT I found myself looking past that later on in the book.

Tons of tropes like second chance romance, miscommunication, and secret baby.

*4.5 stars ⭐️*

Kiersten Modglin never lets me down! This one is no exception. Even better, was the added romance. Her trade mark twists and suspense with some added sweetness.

My only gripe is the cover. But that could be a me thing!

I loved both Reagan and Gunner. Their current and past narratives had me totally hooked and I was rooting for them both. The audio narration by Rachel L. Jacobs, Heather Costa, and Chris Andrew Ciulla was brilliant.

Another unputdownable winner, by the queen of twists.

Many thanks to @dreamscapemedia and @netgalley for ALC 🎧🙏

The Cleaner is Book 1 of The Messes series by Kiersten Modglin. This is my review of the Dreamscape Audio recording, set for release Sept. 1, 2023.
The story begins by introducing protagonist Gunnar, whose occupation is cleaning crime scene messes, just as he did in the past with his family’s messy problems and lies. When a crime scene in his apartment building involves a dead woman from his hometown, he is compelled to go back to Georgia for her funeral. There he becomes tangles in the mysteries of his siblings, his parents, and his one-time love, Reagan. The story spools out slowly, with more details and twists revealed chapter by chapter, to the stunning conclusion.
This is well-plotted, romantic suspense that I have come to expect from Modglin. The characters are relatable, the action well-paced, and the twists delicious! The audiobook cast of Chris Andrew Ciulla, Rachel Jacobs, and Heather Costa are excellent. Kiersten Modglin is a skilled author of clever, messy, domestic thrillers with twisty plots, and this is another excellent entry in her body of work.

Thank you to Dreamscape Audio and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This is the story of Gunner and Raegan. They’re high school sweethearts who, for reasons revealed late in the book, are separated for 8 years.
The book started off promising, but pretty quickly went downhill. Gunner was completely unreasonable in how he left, Raegan basically accepted him with open arms after day 1 of him being back (no groveling on his part), crazy plot twists that just felt like overkill. You get the picture.

Thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF’ed at 60%. I kept waiting for something to happen but it just felt like a lot of flashbacks without much going on. But then something does happen between the two MC’s and instead of waiting one second for an explanation the MMC just storms off…for 8 years?! What the heck? I just can’t stand this in books. Thank you for the audio of this in exchange for my review. I may try this author in the future but this book just wasn’t it for me.

5/5 ⭐
1/5 🌶️
4/5 🎧

This was not what I was expecting from a KMod book, but as a primarily romance reader, I flippin' loved it. The Cleaner is definitely a dark romantic suspense vs her normal thriller mystery, but it still packed the KMod twists and turns that I've come to expect. The first three quarters of this book read almost like any other romance, but then things start to unfold and you're on the edge of your seat wondering what the heck is happening, it was fantastic.

The audio was great, I got immersed in this one really quickly not only because of the story itself, but because Chris Andrew Ciulla, Rachel L Jacobs and Heather Costa did such a incredible job.

I really enjoyed the overall plot and these characters. They were these real feeling people with flaws and I loved watching their story unfold. We had a little bit of mystery from the beginning (Why did he leave? And why without a word?) and honestly they just kept piling on. For every answer you get, two more questions pop up, it was a lot of fun.

I was pretty blown away by the ending, I didn't see that one coming. Not only who, but what they do after too... It was a wild ride for sure and I can't wait to get to the rest of The Messes series.

"The Cleaner" by Kiersten Modglin is a thrilling story that weaves together domestic suspense, romance, and unexpected twists, creating a captivating story that will hold your interest throughout.

The audiobook narration is well delivered. The narrator brought the characters to life, enhancing the tension and emotion in every scene. Modglin seamlessly blends suspense and romance in an unexpected way. The twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing until the very end, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story took another turn.

"The Cleaner" is a must-read for anyone who appreciates a well-crafted domestic suspense novel with a side of romance that will keep you entertained and engaged. Another 4 stars hit for Kiersten Modglin!

This was different from the other KMod. Books I've read. Much more romance than thriller. Spice and everything. I would say a romantic suspense novel.
The audio was good, DUAL.
The triller/suspense part was really just the last 30% of the book.

Thank you to the author, the publishers, and netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a few thrillers by this author so I thought I knew what to expect from The Cleaner but I was wrong. I was pleasantly surprised by this romantic suspense. The narrators did a wonderful job bringing these unique and interesting characters to life. I wish this story had more focus on Gunner's work as a cleaner but it was really only relevant in the very beginning. Still, this was a wonderful suspense with unexpected twists. I won't say much else to avoid spoilers but I highly recommend giving The Cleaner a try if you enjoy romantic suspense and family drama.

Thank you to the author, the publishers, and netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Gunner is so freaking lovable. Seriously, swoon! I loved listening to Gunner and Reagan’s story from when they got together. It was extremely endearing. I also enjoyed the twists. For some reason it bothered me how quickly everyone fell into one big happy family.

I have loved the books I’ve read by Kiersten Modlin; her thrillers always leave you wanting more. This is not a thriller and not at all what I was expecting. Based on the synopsis, I thought this would be based on Gunner’s job as a crime scene cleaner, which would have been so interesting, but it was barely even mentioned. The writing was up to the usual standard. I wasn’t invested in the story, I didn’t connect with the characters. This just wasn’t for me.

If she writes it.. I’m reading it. I have listened to almost all of her books on audio, and I really enjoyed this one! I enjoyed the alternating timelines and adored much of their high school story. I didn't predict the twist until right before it happened.. 🤯 the protective vibes and second chance romance 👌🏻👌🏻 definitely recommend this one!!

I listened to the audiobook in one afternoon! Great narrators and an even better storyline! I requested this one because it was Kiersten Modglin, I didn’t even know what it was about. Loved all the main characters and the mysteries were intriguing! This is one of those books that I couldn’t get enough of. Highly recommend!

Kiersten Modglin does not disappoint! I went in blind with this book, assuming it was a thriller. Turns out it is a romantic thriller which is even better. Such a wonderful love story with the thriller aspect and an HEA. I'm pleasantly surprised.

3.75 stars.
The alternating timelines of this story really helped to build a broader understanding of the characters, but I found that things moved too fast almost? In the “past” timeline, it felt like the characters had only known each other for a tiny amount of time, while months or years had passed. I get that not every second can be captured, otherwise we’d have 5000 page long books, but after only a few chapters the FMC was falling in love with the MMC. Maybe there wasn’t enough substance to those chapters for me to really feel the emotions? I’m not sure.
During the “present” timelines, I found myself connecting much better with the characters, though there was a lot more going in. As with most romances, simple communication could have solved 95% of the characters issues with each other, but the chaos that followed them had little to do with their relationship. I loved the second chance romance aspect of things from the MMCs pov, but I didn’t feel like I got enough from the fmc to form an opinion on her.
Overall, an enjoyable read, but I felt like I needed a bit more to love all the characters equally. Gunner was my stand out character for sure.

I was really hoping to love this one. The narration was fantastic, but the story fell a little flat for me.

I love true crime, and the idea of a "crime scene cleaner" has always fascinated me. Mixed with a little second chance romance and I really thought this would be up my alley. I just didn't feel the chemistry between Gunner and Raegan as I would have liked. I did enjoy the twist, just wish I would have felt a little more spark between the two MCs. I'll probably still check out the sequel.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley to review and I'm so happy I got the chance to listen!

First, my thoughts on the audio: There are three narrators for this book, Rachel Jacobs, Heather Costa, and Chris Andrew Ciulla. They all absolutely killed it (no pun intended) and I enjoyed their reading styles. It made the book feel more like a movie with the combo of good writing and great narration.

And my thoughts on the story: I was hooked from the first page. I started the book while driving one day and I'm sure my facial reactions to the first few chapters had other motorists confused. It opened with drama and then slowly dove into the past events that led up to the tragedies. It was the perfect combination of a love story, gory true crime, and suspense. It scratched all of the itches!

I highly recommend giving this audiobook a listen, or picking up the book and diving into it yourself.

3.25! i wanted to like this so much more…

when gunnar meets reagan, he hesitantly falls in love but one mistake and gunnar’s disappeared.

finally returning home years later after an unfortunate circumstance, gunnar must face what he left behind and the ghosts that are there to haunt him.

—

i had hopes for this mystery/romance but it just felt a little anticlimactic although i will say: the twists were kinda fun. i’m interested in listening/reading to the other books in this series to see if it was just this book that wasn’t for me or something else.

it was sweet to read reagan and gunnar’s past but i was so desperate to read about them connecting more in the future. i think if the book was longer, it would’ve been so much better with more development for the characters. it felt unfinished and some of the side characters seemed kind of contradictory (ie her SPOILER fiancee).

the narrators were good but not my favorites.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for an audiobook ARC in return for an honest review.

Romance is not my jam but I actually like this one! I am a sucker for Kmod book, which is why I asked for this ARC and I am not sad that I did! I am on a mission to read ALL of her books, even if it's a romance. This was not a super spicy or love-dovey romance so I was here for it.

#TheCleaner
#NetGalley

Starts off strong! A dead body right away. That was about it for excitement around dead bodies.

This book reminded me of a Colleen Hoover story line. I don’t feel like it’s the typical Kiersten Modglin but I also didn’t realize she wrote romance! Easy listen, subtle mystery and a typical KM twist (which you know isn’t really typical). Good character build, which is where the similarities with CH come in. In all her books I feel like the relationship is more vibrant because of the character builds.

Low spice, which is great because I prefer the mystery and gore.

Already posted to Goodreads.